1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to heat dissipating technology for electronic systems, and more particularly, to a fan operation adaptive control system which is designed for use in conjunction with an electronic system, such as a network server or a desktop computer, that is equipped with at least one heat-dissipating fan unit and a temperature sensor, for the purpose of providing the fan unit with an adaptive operation control function for adaptively control the operation of the fan unit-based on the particular type of the fan unit.
2. Description of Related Art
Electronic systems typically produce large amounts of heat during operation due to consumption of electrical power. If this heat accumulates inside the electronic system, it would eventually result in the burnout of the electronic components in the electronic system, thus causing the electronic system to shut down or fail to operate normally. One solution to this problem is to mount heat-dissipating devices, such as electrical fan units or coolant-driven air conditioners, for dissipating heat in the electronic system during operation. For example, most computer units such as network servers and desktop computers are typically equipped with one or more fan-based heat-dissipating units for use to generate air streams to blow away the heat generated by the network servers and desktop computers during operation.
In network applications, two types of fan units are commonly installed on network servers: PWM (Pulse Width Modulation) driven type and DC (Direct Current) driven type. The PWM-driven type further includes three subtypes: 100 Hz–500 Hz, 10 KHz–50 KHz, and 1 MHz–5 MHz, based on the frequency of the PWM signal being used to drive the fan unit.
Presently, PWM-driven fan units for network servers are used in conjunction with temperature sensors that are designed in such a manner that the required PWM signal generating circuitry is integrated within the temperature sensors. One drawback to this practice, however, is that if any fan unit on the network server fails and needs to be replaced with a new one, the substitute fan unit should be the same type as the failed one; i.e., if the failed fan unit is 100 Hz–500 Hz PWM-driven type, then substitute fan unit should also be 100 Hz–500 Hz PWM-driven type, and cannot be 10 KHz–50 KHz or 1 MHz–5 MHz PWM-driven type. If it is desired to use a 10 KHz–50 KHz or 1 MHz–5 MHz type as substitute, then the associated temperature sensor should also be replaced with another type that is specifically designed for use with the 10 KHz–50 KHz or 1 MHz–5 MHz type (as mentioned earlier, this is because that the required PWM signal generating circuitry is integrated within the temperature sensor). Similarly, if the originally installed fan unit is a DC-driven type, then when it fails, it must be replaced with a DC-driven type and cannot be replaced with a PWM-driven type; and vice versa. This practice is apparently quite inconvenient and uneconomical in the maintenance of the fan units. There exists therefore a need in the computer industry for a technology that allows a network server to be equipped with just one type of temperature sensor which can be used in conjunction with various different types of fan units, including PWM-driven type (which includes 100 Hz–500 Hz, 10 KHz–50 KHz, and 1 MHz–5 MHz subtypes) and DC-driven type.